The present research focuses on a problem for secondary school studentstheir inability to make crucial decisions on their future profession as well as to understand themselves, their interests, abilities and needs. Many secondary school graduates do not know what profession to choose. The aim of the research is to develop a guidance model for promoting self-directed career decision-making by secondary school students as well as to approbate the model and perform an expert evaluation of the model. The approbation of the model was done at two secondary schools in Latvia's regions. Thirty-two school pupils were involved, of which 16 were students from grade 12 from each school. Individuals investigate own interests, abilities and talents, sets learning and career goals, plans own work and does reflection on their own initiative in self-directed learning. During this process, students build up their abilities and their need to self-guide increases; their personality grows, and the students become more active and assume a greater responsibility for their decisions related to their learning and careers. The students, involved in the experimental approbation of the guidance model for promoting self-directed career decision-making, acquired a new knowledge, identified their abilities, interests and values, became self-confident and got a clear vision of their goals; their internal motivation to make a responsible and thought-out career decision increased. The guidance model is intended for career counsellors, pedagogues-career counsellors and class teachers working with secondary school students.

In the current situation many Latvian secondary school students do not know what specialty to choose to study or what work to choose during the last month of school studies. The aim of the study is to find out self-directed career decision-making difficulties and its influencing factors for the secondary school students. The study was developed in the Latvia University of Agriculture, in the Institute of Education and Home Economics within the Master study programm Career Counsellor. 68 secondary school students were involved in the study from regional secondary schools of Latvia. The surveys were conducted in 2016 and 2017. The results of the study showed that secondary school students, adopting a career decision, has to overcome the difficulties: associated with low self-esteem level and pressure from others; social barriers; internal conflict, the fear of risk-taking, acceptance of responsibility and seriousness of the decision, as well as lack of self-knowledge, too large number of options and uncertainties about the profession and themselves. The factors influencing career decision-making for secondary school students mainly are: the undestanding of their ability, skills, interests, characteristics, value, resources and conditions, self-image, environmental conditions, genetic diversity, learning experience, the ability to reflect on their own life experiences and construct their lives, as well as knowledge of professions and areas of vocational practice. Results of the research could be used in the work of school career counselor's.